Which side of ship???

Hi, I know that it might not always be the same in each port, but I was wondering if there is a better side to be on, or even the back, for the best view. I will be traveling to Melbourne, Tasmania, the Fiordland Nat'l Park, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, Wellington, Tauranga and Auckland.

Since I more than likely won't be able to travel back to this part of the world again, I want to be sure to see and enjoy everything I can!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

We prefer the port side for these ports, purely because this side coincides with the ranger tutorial whilst sailing through Milford Sound. Also going northbound from Dunedin up, you will catch glimpses of the coastline.

The scenery in much of those areas is 360 degrees. And you aren't locked in your cabin....you are roaming all over the ship.

So it doesn't matter.

Hi, I know that it might not always be the same in each port, but I was wondering if there is a better side to be on, or even the back, for the best view. I will be traveling to Melbourne, Tasmania, the Fiordland Nat'l Park, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, Wellington, Tauranga and Auckland.

Since I more than likely won't be able to travel back to this part of the world again, I want to be sure to see and enjoy everything I can!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

For that itinerary 'd go Port, but then again I usually do.

Having done this itinerary I highly recommend getting out on the open deck and enjoying the views from various areas of the ship.

Keith

Thanks everyone. I have an extra large balcony on port side. Can't wait!!!

And logic would dictate if you were going south from Auckland to Sydney you'd want starboard, correct?

Karen

And logic would dictate if you were going south from Auckland to Sydney you'd want starboard, correct?

Karen

That is what we will be doing next month.

I'd love to hear of your trip! Have fun.

Karen

My husband went to sea for a living and he says most captains like to tie up on the port side. We always get port side cabins.

There is a reason for it in maratime history that cruise ships tie up wherever possible with port side to the dock . Just like one always boards an aircraft from the left hand side, albeit there is an opposite door .

My husband went to sea for a living and he says most captains like to tie up on the port side. We always get port side cabins.

But did he work in the cruise industry?

Knowing this is a popular question, over our last 5 cruises, I have kept track of our docking positions. In our experience it has been more like 60% starboard side to the dock.

In the big picture, cruise ships dock a particularly way for many reasons. Maintenance, training, exit considerations, port requests, etc. Many reasons.

From the "What-It's-Worth-Dept." Thought I'd pass this on. I had remembered this article, sometime back. Interesting...

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/port-starboard.html

Since port and starboard never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, and, thus, mariners use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion. When looking forward, toward the bow of a ship, port and starboard refer to the left and right sides, respectively.

In the early days of boating, before ships had rudders on their centerlines, boats were controlled using a steering oar. Most sailors were right handed, so the steering oar was placed over or through the right side of the stern. Sailors began calling the right side the steering side, which soon became "starboard" by combining two Old English words: stéor (meaning "steer") and bord (meaning "the side of a boat").

As the size of boats grew, so did the steering oar, making it much easier to tie a boat up to a dock on the side opposite the oar. This side became known as larboard, or "the loading side." Over time, larboard—too easily confused with starboard—was replaced with port. After all, this was the side that faced the port, allowing supplies to be ported aboard by porters.

Funny because on all the cruises we gave been on most ships were docked port side. I think we tied up starboard side once.

Ships are ships in the marine world. Although these cruise ships have bow and stern thrusters, as well as azipod propulsion systems that make ship handling pretty slick.

If you noticed during embarkation and debarkation it usually happens port side. Tenders are also usually launched on the port side.

This dates back in navigation for centuries as port side to port was done in order to protect the steering oar from being crushed. It remains a favorite practice of many captains.

And there is a bit of trivia for the day. :)